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About

San Francisco Theological Seminary

San Francisco Theological Seminary is a graduate school affiliated with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) located in San Anselmo, California. SFTS was the founding member of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, the largest consortium of graduate schools and seminaries in the United States.

As an affiliate of the University of California, Berkeley, the GTU has allowed students from these member schools to explore diverse religious views and traditions and to engage in academic research in university departmental setting.

History

San Francisco Theological Seminary

San Francisco pastor William Anderson Scott opened two Presbyterian schools in his churches in the mid-19th century, the second of which became San Francisco Theological Seminary.

In 1871, SFTS began with four professors and four students meeting for instruction at the Presbyterian City College located in what now is Union Square. Six years later, the Seminary moved to its own building next to the City College building on Haight Street.

The seminary moved in 1890 to a 14-acre (57,000 m) hilltop site in Marin County about 15 miles (24 km) north of the Golden Gate Bridge. A new charter issued in 1900 gave the Seminary power to grant degrees, and jurisdiction over the Seminary was transferred from the Synod to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1913.

In the post World War II era under President Jesse Hays Baird, SFTS enjoyed unprecedented expansion, with enrollment increasing to more than 300 and new buildings rising all over the San Anselmo campus.

SFTS joined in 1962 with neighboring graduate schools and academic centers in founding the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. The GTU developed joint M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in cooperation with the graduate school at the University of California Berkeley.

In 1990, SFTS opened its second campus in Pasadena, which was housed in the Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Unfortunately, due to seminary budget cuts, the board of trustees voted to close the Pasadena campus in February 2011. However, despite the announced closure, the seminary is considering alternative opportunities to expand their programs in Southern California.

President

Dr. James L. McDonald A.B. in Public Policy, Princeton University Ph.D. in International Relation American University at Washington DC

Rev. Dr. James McDonald is the 11th president in San Francisco Theological Seminary’s (SFTS) history. For the past 13 years, McDonald, an ordained Presbyterian minister, worked for Bread for the World, a faith-based advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., that urges national legislators to end hunger. McDonald managed day-to-day operations, spearheaded fund-raising, and focused on advocacy and strategic efforts to build a broad movement against hunger and poverty. With a PhD in international relations from American University, McDonald led efforts to secure debt relief for the world’s poorest countries. After receiving Bachelor of Arts and Master of Divinity degrees from Princeton University and Union Theological Seminary in New York, respectively, McDonald worked in pastoral ministry for 15 years. He was associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Ind., and then served Tabernacle United Church in Philadelphia from 1980-90. Throughout his career, McDonald has shown a deep passion for education that makes a difference. He was an adjunct faculty member at American and George Washington universities for nearly a decade, teaching courses on world politics, foreign policy and Latin America.

Annette Weissenrieder Ph.D. University of Heidelberg Professor of New Testament, and associated faculty in the Jewish Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley

Academic affiliations

Graduate Theological Union Berkeley

Through GTU schools and centers, SFTS students can relate to wider communities within Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. SFTS students enjoy free and open cross-registration with all GTU member institutions.

University of California Berkeley

Through Graduate Theological Union agreements, SFTS students enjoy free cross-registration for UC Berkeley courses and the use of the university’s research and performing arts centers, its nearly 100 library collections and approximately 80 museum collections.

In conjunction with the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California Berkeley, students can also earn the following degrees:

• Master of Arts • Doctor of Theology • Doctor of Philosophy

SFTS Programs

Field Education - The Department of Field Education and Integrative Studies assists M. Div students in finding their place of ministry. From the Introduction to Ministry taught in the first year, through year-long supervised internships, students experience first-hand, practical applications of theoretical learning.

Program in Christian Spirituality – PCS offers diploma programs in spiritual direction and spiritual formation; a doctor of ministry degree in spirituality; a spirituality concentration in the master of divinity program; plus pastoral renewal opportunities.

Program in Advanced Pastoral Studies - APS provides experienced ministers and laypeople additional training at an advanced, or doctoral, level. This includes the Doctor of Ministry, Diploma in Advanced Pastoral Studies, Diploma in Executive Leadership, and summer continuing education courses.

Notable faculty members

David Noel Freedman Gray Professor of Old Testament Exegesis at San Francisco Theological Seminary (1961–1964); Endowed Chair in Hebrew Biblical Studies at the University of California, San Diego (1986–2008).

David Alexander Professor of Old Testament and Theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and President Emeritus of Pomona College

John Dillenberger Dean of the Faculty at San Francisco Theological Seminary; Professor Emeritus, Graduate Theological Union Berkeley; Chair of the Program in History and Philosophy at Harvard University